"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given,and the government will be on his shoulders.And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." ~ Isaiah 9:6

Monday, December 23, 2013

Thursday morning R2 woke up saying his throat hurt and he knew it was strep. And because I'm not one to panic, I told him it was probably because he slept with his mouth open and his throat got dry. I sprayed his throat with Cloraseptic throat spray and sent him to school.

By one o'clock I received a text message from his teacher telling me that he had been complaining of his throat all day but he did play at recess. Go figure. So I sent her a message back saying I was on my way to pick him up and take him to the doctor. I then called his pediatrician to make an appointment because I really didn't want a sick baby over the Christmas break. It was then that I really panicked because the very nice receptionist said there were no more afternoon appointments. I would have to call back in the morning to schedule a sick appointment or I could use the walk in clinic they offer at 7:45AM.

It seems the flu has hit our area and all five, yes five, doctors in the practice were booked.

I told the receptionist I would call back in the morning and make an appointment. She told me I could go to the emergency room if it got to bad during the night. Ummm, thanks but no thanks, I think I'll take my chances and wait till morning.

I got to school and went in to get R2 and that is when I knew he was really sick. He was asleep in class. He teacher felt so bad for him she gave him a peppermint and told him to go put his head down. The next thing she knew he was snoring.

So I got him home and checked to see if he had fever, which he had none. Then he tells me his stomach hurts worse than his throat. Not even two minutes later his running to the bathroom to throw up. Poor baby. He then went to lay on the couch where he promptly fell back asleep for the next 3 hours. So Friday morning at 8:30 when the doctors office opens I call and make him an appointment. The first opening our doctor had was at 11:00. I grabbed that appointment up so fast it would make two people fighting over a Play Station 4 at Christmas time look like a so motion replay. We get to Dr. H's office and R2 tells him he has self diagnosed himself with strep. And then Dr. H asks him how does he know it's strep? R2 tell him because he has all of the same symptoms as the last time he had strep only this time they are much worse. Dr. H said well lets swab your throat and check it out. So the nurse swabs his throat and fifteen minutes later we have the official diagnosis, it's strep.Dr. H said he should come work with him because he's so smart. R2 told him he could only perform this type of diagnosis on himself. And then told him he didn't want a shot either.

A after a few rounds of antibiotics and three days later he's feeling much better. So much better he said that Santa could come and not be scared he was going to get sick when he stopped by our house. Come on Santa, bring on the presents!

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Well Christmas is next week. Hard to believe that it's almost here and the year is almost over. I finished the school semester two weeks ago and have just been trying to catch my breath. I made all A's. GO ME!Then last weekend we had our annual Christmas musical and Taste of Christmas celebration at church. It was a wild three days. Some how or another Beth roped me into being the head of the Taste of Christmas committee with her a few years back. Let me just say that we've nailed the art of prep and set up for the two day event down to a science. I also messed up my knee at Thanksgiving. I have no idea what I've done other than the fact that it keeps going out every so often and then during our Taste of Christmas event, it popped. Like a painful pop. But I'm being the hard headed woman I am, I'm dealing with the pain and waiting till the Christmas break to go see the doctor. Nothing says Merry Christmas more like a trip to the doctor. This weekend we are having Christmas with my side of the family. My dad said he ordered a chicken nugget tray from Chik-fil-a. Oh how he knows my weakness for a good chicken nugget with some Chik-fil-a sauce for dipping. Sunday we have some last minute shopping to do. And by last minute I mean finish getting my niece and nephew their gifts as we are having Christmas with Hubs side of the family on Monday. Yes I have become the Christmas procrastinator. You can talk to my husband about that art, he's perfected it. Love you Hubs!Hopefully after that we can all just relax and enjoy our time off together. I'm even thinking about a little day trip with family. That is unless the procrastinator that has developed in me keeps putting that trip off.

Monday, December 2, 2013

Another Thanksgiving week is in the books. I'm kind of glad because from last Sunday till Tuesday it was cold, windy, and rainy. I can handle the cold and windy but I do not like rainy in that mixture. I know we need the rain, it makes the flowers pretty and makes things grow, but it's cold and rainy means wet and no one ever said they liked being wet and cold at the same time, unless they just shot a twelve point buck after sitting most of the day in a deer stand. But by Wednesday the sun came out and dried up all the rain and the itsy bitsy spider climbed up the spout again, sorry lost my train of thought. Moving on.

The girls and I, meaning Beth, Alex, and I, had our annual Black Friday shopping day. We left my house at 6:00AM. Yep you read that right, 6:00AM. And headed straight to Target where we promptly got in line at Starbucks. After a jolt of caffeine we made our way around the store with the shopping cart and I kept throwing things in the cart and crossing items off my list. After two hours we were done and on our way to the mall.

Once at the mall, we took in the sights as we went. And no it wasn't the Christmas decorations that had our attention it was the people watching and the lack of good deals. We went from store to store to store, feeling like we just kept missing the sale or the great deal on the new boots we wanted. Something felt off so to say. But we kept pushing through and shopped.

About five hours later we felt the need to some nourishment and headed straight for one of our favorite Mexican food restaurants where we devoured two baskets of chips and some hot sauce quicker than you can say bless your heart! Once our food had digested a bit we took off again before we realized that sitting for an extended period of time after shopping for an extended period of time makes one feel lazy.

After going into a few more stores, again we kept felt like we were missing the deals. The last store on our trip was Lowe's. We had a minor kitchen issue on Thanksgiving with a pipe under the sink and we ended up having to pull out everything that was under there and we needed some new shelf paper so I could line the bottom of the cabinet. And while I was in there Hubs sends me a text message telling me pre-lit trees were on sale. So the three of did what any proper shopping person would do, we headed straight for the trees. And that's when the sale angles finally opened their good deals jar. There right in front of me were the last two pre-lit trees that would look great in my living room. And because they were on sale and the price was right, Alex picked up one of the boxes and loaded it into the shopping cart. I was so excited about the sale price I almost forgot to get the shelf paper, which wasn't on sale, but it should have been on sale because everything should be on sale on Black Friday.

And that was how we ended our twelve hour shopping trip with a great deal and some Chik-fil-a for dinner.

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

It's Thanksgiving week and while I've been trying to relax and just enjoy being off it hasn't quite worked out that way.

Saturday we all had to get up early and take family Christmas pictures. We haven't taken Christmas pictures since R2 was 2. We had to be at the shoot site at 10:15AM. In the cold and drizzling rain. I kept thinking warm thoughts. Here's a sneak peek.

After pictures, Hubs and I had the brilliant idea to go grab some lunch and then hit the grocery store for all of our meals for the week including Thanksgiving. I think everyone in the city was at the store. It was CRAZY! But we managed and got all the items we needs. Or so we thought. We got home and realized we had left a few minor things off the list but nothing that warranted going back to the store. Then Saturday evening we had a wedding to attend. It was a small intimate wedding and the bride was stunning and the groom was handsome even as he stood crying waiting for his bride to walk down the aisle.

Sunday was a day full of church and laundry. I had so much laundry, I was almost afraid it would take me 3 days to do it all. But I washed, dried, and folded all 327 loads and then I left it all for the boys to put away. I also managed to get some reading in for school. And some where in there I think I heard, "MOM, I'm bored!" about a bazillion times so I let the boys invite friends over to spend the night.

Monday, we were up early again because I had a hair appointment and the boys had to be up at church to help decorate for Christmas. After my hair appointment I decided to tuff it out and make a run to HEB for the few things we forgot. I pulled in the parking and was immediately regretting my decision as I could not find a parking place. But I was pleasantly surprised when I walked in at how empty the store seemed and how easy it was to navigate the aisles. And when I went to check out there were no lines. I repeat NO LINES! What a change from two days ago.

After that I came home and I am happy to report I did nothing for the remainder of the day. I sat around and watched the boys play and caught up on a few tv shows.

And there is more excitement for tomorrow. We get to clean the house as we are having Thanksgiving at our house. But before the house cleaning commences, we are taking they boys to the movies to see Catching Fire. And then we are heading to Sonic because by that time it will be happy hour and the drinks are half price and tomorrow is also half price hamburgers. Who can pass that up? Not me, that's who. I'm all for anything that involves a Sonic drink.

Wednesday will be a day of baking and preparing. And then it's Thursday, where sometime after 2pm I will be in a tryptophan induced sleep.

So now that I've given you an itinerary of my week, I hope you each have a wonderful Thanksgiving with the ones you love.

Thursday, November 14, 2013

Yeah I know I've been gone for a bit but things around here have been pretty busy and while most of the happenings are mostly everyday things they have kept me unusually busy. So I'll just jump right in.

R1 finished up his football season last week and they were undefeated and named district champs. I was so proud of him and his team. Our varsity team also made the playoffs. First time since seven years. The games is tonight and it's gonna be just a tad bit cold out there. But we are going to go out and support our boys. R2 decided he wanted to play basketball after attending basketball camp this summer. So we will be busy with practices and games starting next week. He also got new glasses. He got glasses at the end of kindergarten and we are half way through third grade and he finally needed a new prescription. I guess I should be glad that it took this long. I finished one of my classes up a few weeks ago and made an A. I was pretty excited because I was taking two classes at once and this course was condensed from a normal 15 week to an 8 week course. So now I'm just down to one class and I can't wait till Christmas break.

And it was because of these classes and having to read text books I realized my eye sight just wasn't what it used to be. I knew at some point that I was going to need glasses and I know that I should be thankful that I made it to over 40 before I needed an eye exam. So after putting it off for a while, I bit the bullet and went to the eye doctor. And after a complete eye examination and then trying on about 826 different frames I settled on a pair. I picked up my new glasses last week. And while I like them and I'm glad I got them, I can't help but keep wondering if I just should have purchased a pair of cheater glasses since my distance vision is perfect and it's only up close that is blurry.

Also Hubs had some minor surgery a month ago and we are still dealing with recovery. He had a cyst removed from the back of his neck. And it has been healing nicely with only a minor set back. And after a second post op visit the doctor said it should be completely healed in about a week.

Well that's about it. See I told you just a lot of everyday stuff but stuff that has kept me busy.

Monday, October 21, 2013

So it's Sunday night and I'm sitting on the couch watching tv and trying to figure out what to blog about.

I keep flipping back and forth between old episodes of Beverly Hills 90201, the one where Donna Martin gets drunk at prom and then gets suspended from all senior activities to be exact, and a concert from last year of Rascal Flatts with Journey.

And nothing like a little flash back to the glory music of the 80's when just about every song had a synthesizer solo. I can't begin to tell you how much as a forty something year old I loved Journey. I spent many a nights listening to their albums and cassette tapes. I believe that I even had to purchase a second copy of their Frontiers cassette because I wore it completely out. I also spent way to much babysitting money goint to their concerts. The weekend was pretty uneventful. Friday night R1 and a group of his friends, oh say 20 of them, all got together and decided to go out to eat and make a trip to the Haunted Hotel. All of that translates into the parents drive the kids to go eat and then drive them to the Haunted Hotel. So not only was there a group of kids but a group of parents. So after an hour eating we loaded up into several cars and headed to the Haunted Hotel. I had already decided ahead of time that I did my parental duty last year and went into the Hotel so I wasn't going in this year. I wasn't the only parent who had made this decision as a matter of fact the three other people I went through with last year had decided not to go in as well. After spending four hours of "hanging out" this is how the night ended.

Monday, October 14, 2013

Today is Beth's birthday. She is one of my dearest friends and I love her to pieces. The boys call her my BFF, hence the title of this post. Over the years we have spent a lot of time together. So much so we start responding to things the same way or thinking the same things. It's kind of scary when people comment about it, not really. It just means she's rubbing off on me. She has one of the most infectious laughs. She is not only beautiful on the outside but on the inside as well. She has a love for God like I have never seen. I truly cherish her friendship and I thank God everyday for bringing her into my life.

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Beth's daughter Alex is like my own child. I love her to pieces. Come May I'm sure I will be crying my eyes out when she leaves for college. But for now I'm OK.

She is in National Honor Society at school one of the requirements was to join the NHS color rush team for her high school.

What is color rush you might ask? It's a 5K run/walk that benefits the Julie Rogers gift of life program. You can go here to read more about it.

Anyway, she needed to find an adult and a student to walk with her as part of the team. And since Beth hurt her back a few weeks ago, she kind of sort of asked me and I kind of sort of volunteered. And I volunteered R1. So this past Saturday I got up at the butt crack of dawn to get ready. I woke R1 up about 10 minutes before Alex showed up at 7AM. He was not to happy so I will spare all of you the picture of him with his less than enthusiastic face. The Color Rush was so much fun! It only took us just under an hour to walk the 3.2 miles and in the process we were covered with dyed cornstarch. We looked like a rainbow or an Easter egg if you're shaped like me. Here is the picture after we completed the walk. Medals and all.

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

I remember as a child always hearing my parents and grandparents say they remember exactly where they were and exactly what they were doing when John F Kennedy was shot or when Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. And they talked about their feelings when the news came in.

I will always remember where I was and exactly and what I was
doing when the news came in on September 11th. I will remember feeling that came with such tragic news that riveted not only me but our nation to the TV.

I will always remember that first phone call from my loved ones who lived in New York telling
me they were OK. I will remember the photos, the stories and the images that were portrayed over the next months. I will always remember the feeling of patriotism that seems to explode at the seams from everyone. United we stood.

But I will also remember the those who died. Our first responders who put their own lives on the line to help. The others who helped those in need and thought nothing of themselves.

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Last night was just one of those nights where everything just fell into place.

We got home from school. The kids did homework and Hubs helped them. I cooked dinner. Yes I know hell might have frozen over. Anyone who has been around here for a while knows that Hubs does 90% of the cooking. Not because I can't cook but because he likes to cook. Who am I to mess with a good thing?

I did some laundry and then I took my exam for one of my classes. I don't know why the instructor gave us a review sheet because most of the questions didn't even have anything to do with what was on that page. However, I'm not going to gripe because I made a 90, so I'll leave it at that.

Oh, because of the 90 I have given myself permission to take the night off from reading for this class and the other class I am taking. And there you have it. A stellar week night at our house.

Monday, September 9, 2013

So while sitting at the dining room table for most of the weekend studying for my Poly Sci course I decided I needed a little encouragement.

After eating this I'm not quite sure which will be the death of me first, Poly Sci or this.

If you've never tried this flavor from Blue Bell, run or drive since it's still 127 degrees here in Texas to the nearest grocery store and buy it.

It is one of the best flavors they have come out with. It's ice cream with shredded pieces of coconut layered all through out with multiple swirls of chocolate fudge. It's like eating a frozen Almond Joy candy bar with out the almonds.

It is at this very moment I feel for the people who live up North or really any where that Blue Bell is not sold. There is absolutely no comparison. Ben & Jerry's does not even come close. Neither does Dryer's.

Thursday, September 5, 2013

I'm just gonna say it, this new school year is kicking my butt. Not the kids schedule but mine. I just can't seem to grasp it all. And I know it sounds like I'm whining about going to school. Truly I'm not, I'm just having a hard time adjusting to the new schedule. One of my classes is double the work since it is only 8 weeks long instead of the normal 15 weeks. And even thought the teacher is the same from last semester, the format of the class is completely different and I thought it would be the same, so this is frustrating thing for me because I really liked the other format.

Another butt kicker was the purchase of one of my books. I have decided renting books was the best option for me. 1.) I would never need the book again so why should I try and store it in my attic or try and resell it for .50 cents. 2.) Renting is much cheaper than purchasing even a used book these days. Here's an example. A book for one of my classes goes something like this:

Purchase New = $158.00

Purchase Used = $118.00

Rent New = $87.00

Rent Used = $70.00

Now that information is from the books store on campus and that is provided there is a used copy of the edition you need. This particular class did not have a used edition as the professor changed and upgrade to a new edition this semester. So I had to rent a book at the rent new price.

I walk into the bookstore and the clerk asks if I need help. I tell him what courses I'm taking and he leads me over to the books I need. One of the books has two different books to chose from, one for on campus students and one for online students. The clerk asks me if I'm on campus or online. I tell him online and he hands me the book I supposedly need.

My class started on Tuesday and on Tuesday night I begin to look at my course work. As I'm looking at my assignments, I realize the clerk gave me the wrong book. Can you say frustrating!

So Wednesday I take the book back to the bookstore along with the following:

the CD's that go with my book

the receipt

the course enrollment verification

the course syllabus

I walk up to the counter and tell the clerk that another clerk gave me the wrong book and I need to exchange it. She tells me she has to get the manager. The manager comes over and says this is the correct book. I tell her no it's not and then show her all of my documents. She then asks if I am part of the AP program. I tell her yes. And here is where things go wrong, very wrong.

The manager then tells me, very rudely, I should have told the clerk I was part of the AP program. A little stunned by her abruptness I tell her the clerk should have asked if I was on campus, online, or AP. She just looks at me and repeats herself as if I didn't hear her the first time. So I figure I'll repeat what I said. This happens about three times. And then she says well you opened the book and accessed the CD's because the shrink wrap is off. I tell her well it was only when I took the shrink wrap off that I noticed I had the wrong edition. Again she tells me I should have told the clerk I was AP. I then tell her I think we have established that, but I need to exchange this book for the correct one. It was then she told me the book I needed was out of stock. I tell her then I need a refund. She finally got so frustrated that I wasn't caving to her rudeness she looked right at me and said this...

"Well you always seem to have trouble when you come in here, so I'm just going to go ahead and give you a refund to resolved your problem."

Whoa, what a minute. TROUBLE? Seriously? OK at that moment I saw red. I was so dang mad!

I take a deep breath and I mean deep and I tell her I have never had trouble before and this was the first time there has ever been an issue and she clearly has me mixed up with someone else. I tell her the last time I came in the clerk right behind her waited on me and I was very nice, and she could ask her. To which the clerk smiled and nodded yes that I was nice.

So the now extremely rude manager is mad and asks for my credit card that the books were purchased on. So I had her my financial aid card and she begins to process my refund. After she process the refund she realizes that I had a coupon that would no longer be valid because I was returning on of the books. She says she needs my card back to charge me the $15.00 from my coupon. She tries to swipe the card but because it is my financial aid there isn't any money on the card to access, it was all used to pay for my classes and the books I needed.

The manager then tells me she needs another card. I tell her I don't have another card, this is the only card I have. She says then she needs $15.00 cash. I tell her I do not have $15.00 cash. She says you don't have another card? Again, I tell her no I do not. Truth was I did have another card, I had two, but it was her mistake and I wasn't giving her my credit card. She looks at my receipt and realizes that I have an employee discount on the receipt and asks me for a phone number because when credit posts back to my financial aid card she would need to charge me the $15.00. So I gave her my office phone number. And the whole time I'm thinking go ahead call and I'll think about answering my phone. Oh I know in the end I'll answer because it's the right thing to do but dang it, I just want to let it ring. I can tell you this, after her rudeness, I won't be calling her, she will need to call me to correct the problem.

She then smiles at me and while handing me all of my receipts she says I guess we all make mistakes. I reply well I guess you do. To which she just stares at me.

I thank the other clerk who helped me the last time I went in there and walked out. And I can tell you this, I won't be going back.

After all of that and many emails back and forth to Hubs. We ended up renting my book on Amazon for my kindle for only $13.00 and we purchased the five disc CD set that goes with my class on Ebay for $30.00. So I ended up getting my book/CD's for $43.00. Yep $43.00 total. I for sure won't be going back to the bookstore.

But what I'm most surprised about was my ability to stay calm and not go completely bezerk on the manager. I guess some things come with age because I can certainly tell you my twenty something year old self would not have been so nice and she would have said somethings she shouldn't have. I'm sure I did my grandmother proud, because she was a firm believer that if you didn't have anything nice to say then don't say it at all.

Friday, August 30, 2013

Well by the time the three of you are reading this it will be Friday. This means we have made it through the first week of school. And I might add by the skin of our teeth, what ever that phrase means. But what I do know is that this is a three day weekend. And that means no getting up at the butt crack of dawn on Monday and getting ready for the school day.

The first week of school is always rough. The alarm clock screams in my ears at 5:00AM, making sure a good breakfast is served, lunches that were made the night before end up in the backpacks, everyone adjusting to a new schedule and homework is completed and ready to be turned in and all that is just for me. Just kidding it's for the kids too.

One of the courses I'm taking this semester is the second half to one I took last semester. I made an A in the last semester but for some reason I'm having a hard time getting motivated and the course work load is doubled so that may be a reason. However I had two quizzes to take this week and I made an 80 on one and a 90 on the other. Sadly they were optional and will not have affect on my overall grade for the course. What I'm really wanting to say to the professor is why have an optional quiz. If you are going to take the time to write the quiz, post it online and let a grade be assigned, then why not just take the dang grade. That was 15 minutes of my life I'll never get back. But my grandmother always said if you don't have anything nice to say then don't say anything at all. Sorry grandma.

But on a good note, my work is done until Sunday, when the next quiz is posted (and yes this one is optional too) along with a discussion board forum.

So until then, I'm outta here. I'm off for some fun in the sun with my boys. Y'all have a good one.

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

The boys woke up in a good mood, ate breakfast, picked up their backpacks and got in the car, early I might add.

I dropped off R1 and as we were pulling away from the curb, R2 rolls down the window and yells at him to have a great day and he loves him. And R1 didn't even hear him.

As we road down the street to R2's school he told me that I could just drop him off in the drop off line and there was no need for me to get out of the car. I quickly corrected him and told that I would get out of the car and walk him in every first day of school until he started Jr. High School so he just better get used to it.

Anyway we walked into R2's home room and his teach met us at the door. We love his homeroom teacher. He had her in first grade and she moved up this year. We are both totally excited! She told him to hang his backpack on the back of any seat where he wanted to sit. So he walked over to a chair and put his stuff down and then announced he was going to the gym where all third graders go in the morning. He gave me a quick hug and was gone. His teacher and I just looked at each other and shook our heads. And then I left to go to work.

I left work early and made my way back to the school to pick up R2. And promptly at 3:10 he came out of the building and got in my car and asked me for something to eat. Then we headed over to R1's school to pick him up. He saw me pull up into the pick up lane and got in my car and the promptly asked me for something to eat. I think the theme here was they were starving. So we headed home where they each got a snack.

Right after dinner we hanging out and talking at the table and R2 tells me that he doesn't like school and doesn't want to go back. When I asked why he said that third grade was to much work. I hate to break it to him but it only gets worse from here out.

So I day one of the 2013-2014 school year is done and apparently according to R2 so are all the other days.

Monday, August 26, 2013

So where do I start? The things going on around here or the things running around in my brain. I think I'll start with what's going on.

Friday afternoon we hit the grocery store, all four of us. And one hour later we walked out a $361.00 poorer. The only part of that trip that did not involve food was the new binder R1 found, thank goodness, it was thirteen dollars. Tide laundry detergent because it's cheaper at HEB than at Target, toilet paper and paper towels. So $40.00 of that $361.00 were either school supplies or house staples. And lets be honest, $321.00 on food for one week, that's right, one week is crazy! I guess that's what happens when you let everything run out and it's the weekend before school starts.

We spent the better part of Saturday shopping for new tennis shoes for both boys. Football cleats for R1, how that boy went from a size 8.5 last year to a 10.5 this year I'll never know. A few new shirts for Hubs, and a pair of nude flats for me. But before the shopping trip took place I went to breakfast with the girls and then went for pedicures.

This is my new favorite color.

It's what I had my toes done in on Saturday. And yes, it's that shiny.

Any way back to the things that are running around in my head. Tomorrow is first day of school. The boys backpacks are packed and ready. Lunches are made and ready to be put in their backpacks tomorrow. Clothes are laid out and ready to be put on.

I'm ready for school too. My books are purchased and sitting on the table waiting to be read. Hubs is ready too.

So now I pray that my boys, all three of them have an amazing school year. I pray they are kept safe each and every day. I pray for strength for each teacher as they guide not only my boys but all of the other children into the future. And I am praying for an awesome school year for all.

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

So if the title of this post isn’t one of the biggest conundrums of the south I don’t know what it is. Hmmm it’s always a lovely 127º here in Southeast Texas in the middle of August.

NOT!

Anyway a few weeks ago I on Monday I started coughing. Like the kind of cough that lingers all day and makes you feel as if you have been smoking for 20 years only you don't smoke.

I went home after work and literally washed my face, brushed my teeth and crawled into bed. I left Hubs to deal with all manner of cooking, cleaning, and making sure the boys basically taken care of.
I coughed so much through the night I ended up in the doctor’s office the next day. Where they promptly gave me two shots, collected my co-pay and sent me on my way.

By Wednesday my chest had begun to hurt. Like so much hurt, I thought I was having a heart attack only I wasn't having a heart attack. I like to do what I call giving the medicine time to work thing because really I didn't want to go back to the doctors office, so I toughed it out.

But by Thursday my tough girl antics had worn off and I was getting a chest X-ray and a prescription for some antibiotics. Now those antibiotics were supposed to make me feel better, however the bottle read something along the lines of "may cause dizziness" Yeah well it was more than that. It knocked me into what I thought was the next week. They made my head so fuzzy I couldn't even pick it up off the pillow or the room began to spin.
I would like to say the antibiotic induced coma I went into where I slept for 2 days was blissful, only it wasn't. To be honest those few days were a bit hazy. I really don't remember anything other than the sleep induced fog I was in.

However, I'm better now and the spinning room and chest pains have all gone away, the only thing that has decided to hang around it the lovely drainage cough that will be here until sometime in September.

Monday, August 19, 2013

Well it's the last week of summer here and I really had planned on blogging more since we were all out of school but to be honest, the lazy days just kinda took over.

Don't get me wrong we were busy with our normal summer things, like VBS and multiple visit to the dentist, and trips to the lake, church camp, grandparent camp and back to school shopping but other than that I just spent some great time with my people.

We went shopping a few weekends ago for back to school clothes for the boys and Hubs. He is moving from the elementary school teaching position he has had for the past 17 years to the high school to be the technology coordinator. He's excited and I'm excited for him. Anyway, the boys got some great stuff and they should be set until at least Christmas, I hope.

And not only are boys beginning school again, I am as well. Y'all know I went back the past year was good considering I hadn't taken a class in almost thirteen years. This semester I decided to load up and take two courses instead of just one. One of them is the second have of a class I took last semester. It's pretty reading and writing intensive so we will see how this all plays out with the other class I'm taking.

With the start of school come football season. R1 has been practicing most of the summer and his first game is in a few weeks. I'm ready to cheer him on and to take some pictures with the new camera I bought over Christmas. It takes awesome pictures.

Friday, July 26, 2013

Monday, July 22, 2013

Sorry I haven't been here much but we have been enjoying our summer days. This past week R1 had summer camp for a week and while he was gone, R2 had grandparent camp. This left Hubs and I with a situation that hardly every happens, no children. We never seem to, for lack of a better term, get rid of both kids at the same time. So anyway, we were without the boys for few days. We had big plans to go to Houston and do some shopping and a few other things. But when the first day was upon us, I changed my mind and decided staying home and relaxing sounded better. I have to say while I missed the boys it was a great few days. I don't think we even turned on the TV. I can honestly say it was a Nickelodeon and Family Chanel free few days. On Friday, R1 came home from camp and when we picked him up, we literally came back home for all of five minutes and loaded up Cookie, our dog, and the our luggage and left for the lake. R1 wasn't all that excited to realize he wouldn't be able to sleep in his bed for another three days. You know after you've been gone for any length of time there is nothing better than returning and being able to sleep in your own comfy bed. Never the less we headed up to the lake for a few days of fun in the sun. R2 was so excited to see us and couldn't run into my arms fast enough. We spent the next three days swimming, fishing, riding around in the golf cart, and eating way to much food. So now we are home, at little sun burned, freshly bathed, and watching the DVD Wreck It Ralph because while we were gone, a nice thunderstorm came through and knocked out our satellite dish. So Hubs called them and they will be out sometime tomorrow between noon and five o'clock. Because nothing says efficiency like "We go to lunch from twelve to one and oh we can be there in a five hour time frame."

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Growing up in Houston I remember every summer and I do mean every summer my family would go to Astroworld. I also remember as I grew into my teen years I would want to go so much my parents finally purchased me a season pass. My group of friends and I all had them. My parents would give me twenty dollars and one of our parents would drop us off when the gates opened at 10:00am and then another would pick us up at 5:00pm. That was back in the day when 1. You could purchase more than two beverages and one hot dog at an amusement park for less than twenty dollars and 2. Parents didn’t have to worry about someone taking off with their child when they dropped them off for several hours of roller coaster riding.

As a grown adult I still had a love that place and went several times. I couldn’t wait to bring my boys. I knew they would have just as much fun riding in the first and the last car of the Texas Cyclone as I did.

But then in 2005 the park closed and it felt like a piece of me had died. I never did get to take my boys to Astroworld. They would never get to experience The Rainbo Bakery, where they served mini loaves of fresh baked bread with honey. No Texas Cyclone, Alpine Sleigh Ride, Excalibur, XLR-8, Greezed Lightnin, The Gun Slinger, Sky Screamer, The Viper, The Bamboo Chute, Thunder River, The River of No Return, 610 Limited Train, and so many more.

But alas, a new day is dawning in the amusement park world, Grand Texas Theme Park is in the works and I am HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY!

Saturday, July 6, 2013

Thirteen years ago today at 12:32 I became a mother. R1 was born and my life was changed forever.

I have loved every minute of being his mom and I am so thankful God chose me to be his mother. I have enjoyed watching him grow into the man he will one day become. I pray for God to navigate him down the streets to manhood. To always be his compas.

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Yep, it's been almost a month since I last blogged. I was really hoping that with school out for all of us that I would blog more. Clearly this hasn't happened.

As soon as school was out the boys began what I call the round of the camps. Baseball camp, basketball camp, grandparent camp, reading camp, well not reading camp but R2 has tutoring once a week to make sure he doesn't fall behind during summer due to his Dyslexia. R1 also had a few trips with the youth department at church not to mention he has summer work outs for football season every day.

Then somewhere in all of that my sweet friend Beth lost her mother. She had been sick and it was to be expected but that still doesn't lessen the hurt from the loss. Beth had been running back and forth about the last two weeks of school to her childhood home, an hour away. And once school let out she pretty much stayed there for another 2 1/2 weeks. When her mother took a turn for the worst I began sending her daily text messages with bible verses about faith, love, healing, encouragement, hope and strength. More often than not the verse I had chosen for her that day was just what she needed to get her through. And while the passing of her mother has been hard we both know that she is with her Lord, Jesus Christ and she is healed and we will see her once again. Also her sister in law and I decided that she needed to just relax when she finally came home so we cleaned her house. Her husband was in on the secret and she had no idea. Beth text me the day she got home. She said she cried when she walked in the door and saw the house.

There is a funny story that goes some where in that last paragraph but I'm going to make it a post all it's own.

R1 was supposed to go on the first of two mission trips with our youth to Mission Arlington, but he came down with a viral infection and was running a 103.0 fever. The day before they were supposed to leave I took him to the doctor and when the doctor checked him out, he wasn't running a fever. However I still wasn't comfortable sending him five hours away in case he had a relapse. And thank goodness my mother's intuition kicked in because sure enough, around 9pm he began running fever again. No mission trip for him. He wasn't to happy with me but he got over it when he found out the room that boys group was staying in did not have any A/C.

So as you can see we've been very busy with summer activities and I hope all of you are having a great summer too!

Friday, June 7, 2013

This week has been a crazy one filled with school parties, awards programs, talent shows, roof camp outs and field trips.

Speaking of roof camp outs, Hubs and Coach J always make a bet with their students if they score 95% or better on the science part of whatever name the state has chosen to call the stanardized test, this year it was STARR, they would sleep on the roof of the school for one night. So for the past four years during the last week of school Hubs and Coach J have camped out on the roof. So Wednesday I put this message on Facebook,

Those 5th graders did it again and rocked the STARR science test! So Coach K and Coach J are sleeping on the roof TONIGHT! Come by and say hello, take a picture, bring them a snack, or honk when you drive by. This will be the last year for Coach K to sleep on the roof as he is moving to the High School next year. So lets make this year a memorable one.

And was it ever memorable. Beginning at 6:30pm the coaches began their ascent to the roof to get set up for the night. The boys and I went to make sure they got up on the roof and didn't need anything. We stayed for about an hour because people kept coming by to visit and bring them snacks, drinks, and a few Dairy Queen Blizzards. I called Hubs around 10:00pm to tell him good night and he said that they had so much snack food they could stay up there for about three days. The students love it when these two camp out on the roof. There were so many pictures of them on Facebook from everyone that stopped by. This was the best turn out by far.

Here they are going up.

Here they are setting up the tent and their chairs﻿

The redneck dumbwaiter.

This was much easier than climbing up and down the ladder.

When I brought the boys to school the next morning, they were still up there. They stay up there so the kids can see them and make a big deal about them coming down. Hubs said that people kept coming by until around 9:30 or so and that the police had stopped several times to check on them. The first time they stopped to see if wasn't senior high school students pulling a prank. Hubs told them they were almost seniors but of a different nature and that all of this was legit and everything was fine. Hubs said they also got a wake up honk at 2AM.

I love that my husband, other teachers, and even the entire school district do things like this all the time. It really shows they support the kids and really do care about them.

I guess it's safe to say I'm now the mother of an 8th grader, a 3rd grader, and the wife of the technology coordinator at the high school.